Rating: 
Summary: A great game with some minor flaws
Review: Now note before you rad that i ahd been looking forward to this game for quite some time! then i finally got it and was happy as happy could be, when i popped it in and installed it i got a message syaing somehting about my computer not being able to run it, so then i had to pitch in an addditional 90 bucks for a Nvidia GeForce4 PCI card, since my two year old Dell could not run the game, even with that hi tech graphics card i barely get acceptble frame rates and it takes about 15 minutes to load a new town when i take the silt strider (this worlds pubilc transportation). so yes, the rumors are true, Morrowind takes a monster machine to run or an additional 90 bucks, but it is oh so worth it, form the moment i started up i knew i loved this game.
First you are in a prison ship, why you are there is never explained but that hardly matters, apparently the Emperor just threw you in prison(?). but your Shipmate talks to you for a little while and then you pick your name, then a guard gets you and you head outside, there you pick your race,Gender and look of your characetr from a near endless list of cool choices (Dark elves are real cool, couldnt resist). then you head into a census office and choose your class, my favorite part, customization is half the fun in this game, you can make your character literally ANY kind of class you can think up, or you can pick one, but the real fun Lyes in making your won class where you pick your skills, name of the class etc, i love this part and anyone who always wanted to be a Demon hunter or something can just make it. then you pick a birthsign which dictates some major or minor abilities and stats you recieve, then you are released into the huge world of morrowind with just the name of a contact in Balmora, heres where the game really kicks off, you can explore ANYWHERE from any part of the game, on foot or in a silt strider (Giant pasenger bug) by boat or teleportation, the huge island you're on is Giant, your characetr can by equipment and accessories, weapons and armor and learn spells, they actually appear right on your character too unlike some console Rpg's. leveling up is fun and easy and ive been playing for a logn frickin time and still havent even completed the first main mission. thats the beauty too, you arent limited at all, you can join several different guilds and complete their quests orbecome an imperial guard and do empire work stc. you could play for as long as ypou have the game and never even crack at the main storyline, the island is littered with dungeons and towns too with miles of ruins stretching in vast mazes underground. this game world is huge and your totally customized character is in the middle of it all. characters react thoguhtfully too so if they dont like you or are Racist (in full force here) they wont like you and will say rude comments as you walk by. that brings me to my next point, the graphics, voice acting and sound is brilliant with great music and incredible piel counts, enviorments are brought to life in this game and characters look pretty realistic, guards also patrol the streets, so if you like some open-ness with your RPG cake then definately, by all means, BUY THIS GAME! it will hook you and never let go.
Rating:
Summary: An Oldtimer Speaks On Morrowind
Review: I'm a veteran roleplayer with several decades of experience in face-to-face, MUSHes, MUDs, MMRPGs and CRPGs. For a heckuva long time I said that no computer game would ever be able to replicate the freedom of choice and meaningful context necessary to play a role properly. Most CRPGs rely on more or less scripted paths and a great deal of meaningless combat filler. CRPG roles are defined in terms of battle effectiveness not in terms of intrinsic outlooks, motives, techniques and goals.There are some exceptions - games like Darklands, Arkania, Planescape: Torment and Morrowind's predecessor Daggerfall tried to offer more interesting settings or a greater degree of freedom. Ultimately, though, setting seemed to come at the price of freedom - well defined NPCs and carefully constructed stories limited how much latitude a designer could grant a player. When freedom was stressed, the story appeared nebulous and a huge cast of walk-on interchangeable NPCs tended to blend together. MMRPGs, MUDs, and MUSHes all have their own weaknesses and issues as real roleplaying vehicles but that's a very different topic than the single player game. Morrowind is the first solo player game, ever, to truly reconcile setting, story and the freedom to make the kinds of decisions that really define a character. The setting of Vvardenfell is a complex world - an unwilling member of a multicultural Imperial commonwealth much like Rome. The factions and factions within factions both amongst the natives and the colonists is Byzantine and dramatic. Both Imperial and Dunmer cultures are explored in detail with not only articulated NPCs using a very sophisticated dialogue system, incredible graphics and architecture, but entire libraries of books written by folks holding quite a few divergent opinions. Even theology, ecology, and economics are considered as part of the background and often form the basis of the conflicts your character gets drawn into. So who is your character that gets drawn into the world of Morrowind? A nameless prisoner convicted of crimes left vague, released by fiat of The Emperor to complete a unknown mission. Upon disembarking from the ship, and after stopping to oogle the gorgeous world from shore, you're ushered through character creation in the guise of answering the local provost's questions. You have three options. Answer a series of 'psychological' profile questions that result in a character class tailored to your style of problem solving. Pick a class from a list of premade types that should each work rather well. Lastly, you can define a character from scratch - picking out individual skills and statistics to invent your own vision. In addition to picking a race, you also can pick sex, facial features and hairstyle. Combined with a dizzying array of clothing and armor options eventually available you'll likely end up with a very striking persona. You're unceremoniously ushered out with the directions to look around town and equip before setting off to meet with an Imperial agent in another city. That's where the roleplaying begins. You'll run into all sorts of characters with different agendas and agendas at cross purposes. A decision you make concerning one may affect your relations with a whole cross-section of folks associated with him. Are you a thief? Steal anything you want but expect the law to chase you if you're spotted. And don't try selling stolen goods to merchants that know the previous owner. Scout? Perhaps you'll talk to the bartender of the local tavern and get your bearings on the local geography. Do gooder? Plenty of decent folks need help. Thug? The criminals need help too. Over time, as you learn more about the setting, you'll find yourself taking sides with one or more of the dozens of factions represented. But time is on your side. Witchhunter, enchanter, archer or alchemist your skills will improve as you use them and as you explore ruins and lairs or simply complete missions for your factional patrons. What skills you chose, how you improve them and whom you make as an enemy or a friend really do allow a player to roleplay. A rogue will be more successful charming or swindling his way around challenges. A crusader will likely take a more direct approach. But a crusader affiliated with the Triumvirate Temple of the local Dunmer will have very different missions and goals than a crusader allied to the Imperial Cult. And there are even darker patrons one can serve as the mysteries of the world are slowly rolled back including demon lords and vampire clans. There are shortcomings. Combat can be less realistic or action packed. In true fantasy RPG mold, you spend most of your time in combat juggling buffs, hitpoints and pausing to move items into slots or bring up spells. Some have complained about the lack of feedback concerning how damaged a foe is. However, you'll spend alot of time with sweaty palms trying to pull a tough fight off. You really need a strong system to run this on. I use a Dell Dimension 8200, 2g Pentium4, 512 megs RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce3 ti 500, with Turtle Beach/Altec Lansing surround sound. GeForce3 and GeForce4 cards seem to be the best to get a bang out of your buck with Morrowind. There are reports of lower end systems doing well but this is the game to upgrade for if you're a roleplayer. There are also reports of miscellaneous bugs and CTDs but I haven't experienced them.
Rating:
Summary: MORROWIND REVIEW
Review: This game is awesome! It is not like a normal RPG, where you play different levels, and then it is over. In this game, you can go wherever and join differnt guilds and fight. You can also learn magic and join the mages guild, learn fighting and join the fighters guild, and best of all, you creat your own chracter.
Rating: 
Summary: Oddly relaxing
Review: Morrowind is a unique experience. As other people have mentioned, it is perhaps the prettiest RPG I have ever played. The beautifully rendered world is a joy to simply move around in, walking and listening to the music. (The music, BTW, is in standard MP3 formats. When you get tired of it, you can cut and swap in your own. I now occasionally wander to Beethoven's 7th Symphony, or fight to the Gladiator soundtrack.)
The game is huge, and full of wandering. You can take several forms of mass transit, including riding the bugs, taking a ship, or having mages zap you hither and yon, but when you take those methods you lose out on what I find most engaging in the game world: walking from here to there, killing the occasional rat and pterodactyl.
The main quest is utterly free from urgency. This means you are free to explore: doing the side quests offered by more than a dozen factions you can ally with. Or setting yourself quixotic goals, like I did: to walk around the whole continent on foot.
The game has flaws. At high levels, you'll still get attacked by rats and bugs that you can swat aside; there isn't much of a point to these combats. Most NPCs offer you dozens of conversation options, most of which repeat the same info you got from the last one you spoke to. The main quest is a CRPG cliche. The side quests begin with simple errand boy and kill the foozle stuff; you won't catch the subtleties of some of them unless you join multiple factions and work on their quests simultaneously. For siding with one may eventually preclude you from carrying out another's.
This isn't the most exciting game in the world. But that is what makes it charming. It's a game you can play for a while, set aside, and return to. It will not have you on the edge of your seat. But the mere business of strolling around the game world on the way to visit your next port of call has a hypnotic charm of its own.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the Best RPG Since Baldur's Gate 2
Review: What can I say about The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind? Well, I don't know if I've ever played a stand-alone game (i.e. not an MMORPG) that made me want to explore such a vast beautifully rendered fantasy world. Morrowind is one of those games that you'll never fully appreciate if you don't have a top of the line video card, a large monitor and some nice speakers or headphones. It truly does capture your imagination and throw you head first into the world you're exploring. It's also one of the least linear RPG's I've ever played. There were hundreds of quests and I didn't have to do anything in a specific order. I could become a dastardly criminal, a chivalrous knight, and then suddenly change my occupation to a mysterious mage. Except for a few game essential characters, I could kill anyone and steal anything. Not that I wanted to, but that's just to give you an idea of how much is possible in this game. If I could compare Morrowind to anything it would be an offline version of Everquest because the vast amounts of land and people in this game almost feel like an MMORPG. Morrowind has it's own system of rules and leveling and that would be one of my few complaints, leveling is too darn easy in this game. It's very easy to obtain a "god level" in no time at all. Also, while there are hundreds and hundreds of quests and NPC's, sometimes there isn't enough variety to keep your interest. Fortunately, Morrowind is included with a toolset that allows you to design your own custom mods and there is a large online community for Morrowind with plenty of stuff available for download. The game uses a clver plug-in system that allows you to use the altered content without affecting the main game. Morrowind is one of those love-hate games. Gamers either love it to the end or end up hating it for some of the reasons I mentioned above. Whatever your final opinion of the game is, you will definitely be hooked for at least two or three weeks. Morrowind is a truly ambitious RPG and brings new life to this once popular but declining genre.
Rating:
Summary: A good conclusion to Morrowind main quest
Review: Being that Morrowind is one of the best games I've ever played, I thought I would give Tribunal a try. Glad I did. This is not simply a Morrowind redux. Tribunal is smaller and centered around a single city, doesn't allow for much roaming, and doesn't have the variety of creatures, items, factions, and quests as the original game. But for an expansion, it certainly has enough. I thought the Tribunal main quest was quite interesting, especially how the underground parts of the city unfold as you progress and your role in some grand schemes becomes clearer. My warrior character, who started Tribunal at 33rd level, died many, many times, so there shouldn't be any lack of challenge for most gamers. The city itself is beautiful, and the quests more interesting than many of Morrowind's. Tribunal's main quest should be good for about 30 hours of gameplay, and the side quest should add several more. Due to the linear, concluding nature of this expansion, it will not have much replayability for many people. However, considering the current price, the fact that the expansion adds some nice shops and items, and many mods that you can download require Tribunal, this is definitely a worthwhile gaming experience and investment.
Rating:
Summary: This baby needs to fly!!
Review: Heres the computer I ran it on: Athlon T-bird 1.4, GF2 GTS 64meg, 256megs system memory.
How much do I like this game? I just ordered a GF4Ti4600! Max out that credit card baby so this one can fly! Anyway, on the system above at modest settings and 1024x768 screen res it runs smooth as glass inside buildings. Mostly smooth in wilderness areas of the game. Somewhat choppy in cities such as the glorious Balmora. I bought the GF4 to fix all that. My hard drive is probably a bit fragmented (defrag before installing) so I did notice a lot of choppiness during access but it wasn't limited to this. The HIGH sound setting also caused a lot of choppiness (turned it to LOW and it smooth out in wilderness). I thought the object detail was better than any game I've played. There's so much variety I was looking in all directions. (Spoiler?) I found a ship that had run aground and I just about freaked. The water looked better than expected (much better than GOTHIC) on the above system (GF4 wil better better, hee hee hee). It's great looking down on Odai River from Balmora's city wall - give it a try! The characters in the game are nicely detailed and numerous. Love the funny torches they carry at night. A few favorite things are the weather effects (2 words: sand storm), amazing sky textures (nighttime clouds with star pattern underneath), awesome detail indoors. Morrowind of overflowing with RPG goodness. Just trying out the missions and walking around will help you escape your normal dull life (assuming you didn't just win the lottery or something). Let the complainers play Dungeon Seige or Diablo. Now, here's the things I didn't like so much. The giant beasts you travel on were striking. However, the travel process is instant. I'd love to travel in real time on the back of that thing. I like realism! I ain't in no hurry! Show me all of it! Also, many of the early creatures in the game are a little disappointing. I guess it'll take time to get to the good ones. Rats, leeches and crabs were not too interesting. By far my biggest gripe has to be combat. Ultima underworld, Daggerfall, Gothic (heck, even FTL's Dungeon Master)...these games got it right. Variety in swings is so important. Also, you need to know when a hit is a good hit. Put a splat of blood and even a number to show how good it was. Something visual! Sound effect indicator too. I also thought the sounds overall were a mixed bag. For example, I didn't like the jumping sound. Most is very good on HIGH setting. Also the music is perfect. Nice job Jeremy Soule!! Reminded me of Titanic or Lord of the Rings. Well, I'm ready to play some more. This game is worth the trouble. Certainly some of the problems will be addressed in a patch. In the meantime this game is still grand! It's worth upgrading for as it is. When that GF4 comes nobody will hear from me for a looooooooong time!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent game with a few drawbacks
Review: My husband calls this game digital crack because once I start playing it, it is REALLY difficult to stop. The premise of it is AMAZING! Do anything, be anyone... It's the truest RPG I have ever come across besides sitting around a table and rolling dice. Having said that, there are a few drawbacks. First, the game crashes. Alot. This would be understandable if I was on an older machine that couldn't handle the data, but I am playing on a brand new top of the line Alienware gaming machine. No excuse. I have had to develop the habit of saving ALOT!!! The other drawback is that it takes so damn long to do anything. When it comes to first person stuff, I hearken back to half-life where you could run really fast! Okay, I guess that is just a pet peeve of mine, but I get sick of the traveling around bit. Yeah, yeah. More realistic. I know. :) Anyway, if you love RPGs, and don't mind saving alot, GET THIS GAME. It takes a little patience and a lot of hard work, but it is just an incredible game. Thousands of mods out there to choose from, and endless ways to devolope your character. Actually one of my faves and I am REALLY picky.
Rating:
Summary: Defines how opened up a RPG can get...
Review: Introduction: Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind might require a P3/500MHZ with 128 MB OF RAM for Win9k and 256 MB OF RAM for Win2k, and more but don't listen to the requirements. Even on a p4/1700mhz with 256 or 512 mb of ram, win2k and more the game doesn't run smooth. IT needs a very powerful system to run smooth. Besides the technical part, morrowind offers extremely open ended game play. There are so manys things you can do in the game it is redicoulous. You can literally be anything you want and can do anything you want. There are hundreds of massive locations you can explore in the game. You can spend year after year on a game like this and you woudn't get bored. It is really incredible. Truly, it is a masterpiece. Here is the score: Graphics: Decent. Not Excellent, not Perfect, but good enough. It offers advanced terrain scenery. Indoor and outdoor scenery is certainly fineley designed. The Dynamic Lightning system and the real-time shadows are very good. The high polygon accounts and realistic textures and objects throughout the game and so on are incredible. Although the animations of the characters are done cheesy from my opinion. Graphics score: 7.8/10
Audio: Very Good. I'm going to start out with the music. The music is excellent, it suits the theme of the game. When you are exploring a huge mountain or city and so on when you here that classical exploration music or when you are in an intense battle with a creature in morrowind the music really makes you feel like your there. Sounds? They are OK. They suit the game well. Ambient Sounds and triggered/scripted sounds are done well and are decent. Voice acting is very good. Sound score: 8.5/10
AI: Damn tough. Nothing too special, but damn tough. The AI is very good ans use good tactics in the game. It is very realistic to watch AI at work in the game. The AI is one of the most spectacular done elements in morrowind. AI score: 9.0/10
Game play: Extremely open ended. Done perfectly. Offers what no RPG ever has. You can literally do anything you want. And it is quite realistic in the game with the game play elements. That's all I can describe it. The game play will have you playing the game for years, year after year. I assure you. Game play rating: 10/10. Storyline: Well, the storyline is quite interesting in morrowind. I won't ruin it (meaning I won't say it), but I'm sure it'll grab RPG gamer's interest for sure! Storyline score: 8.8/10 Overall final grand score: 9.0/10 Final word: Morrowind is an superb RPG stragedy over all. It offers vast elements not found in normal games. I suggest this game for any gamer with a powerful enough system to run it and that are fans of this time genre game :)
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful idea that gets stale
Review: It has so much potential, but some simple concept flaws really bring it down. With just a little tweaking, this really could have been the best game of all time. Progressing from level 52 to 53 is no harder and takes no longer than going from 1 to 2. this makes it far too easy to fly up in levels at breakneck speed. A well proven system for this type of game is to implement character development in such a way that levels progress more and more slowly. If this one aspect was fixed in this game, I can safely say that it would be my favorite game of all time.
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